Apparatus for heating up locomotive-boilers



Model) APPARATUS FOR HEATING UP LOGOMOTIVE BOILERS. I No. 553,449. Patented Jan. 21, 1896.

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NiTEn STATES PATENT O FICE,

JOHN ,T. CONNOR, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

APPARATUS FOR HEATING UP LOCOMOTlVE-BOILERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,449, dated January 21, 1896.

Application filed November 11,1395. Serial No. 568,589- (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. CONNOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Heating Up Locom otive-Boilers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for kindling fires in locomotives; and it is intended to provide an improved apparatus by which the fires may be rapidly and economically kindled and steam may begotten up without much of the tedious delay now ordinarilyincident to raising steam in a cold locomotive-boiler. In addition to the vacuunr draft up the chimney, which may be made by air or steam from other sources than the locoi'notive-boiler itself, steam may also be blown into the boiler from extraneous sources, which then becomes a condenser for the said steam, and the water in the boiler is rapidly heated by the latent heat of the vapor.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawing, in which A represents the locomotiveboiler constructed in the usual way and provided with the ordinary grate l3 and a firebox constructed in the usual way. On this grate the coal is laid to a thickness of two or three inches, leaving a bare spot at or near the middle of the grate, on which is placed a lump of a pound, more or less, of greasy waste, such as has been already used around the roundhouse. This waste is either lighted just before it is put into the furnace or it may be lighted at the desired time after it is in. Over this waste is thrown about a shovelful of coal, and air is blown into the furnace beneath the said waste by means of the air-jet 7; at the end of the nozzle K, which is connected by means of the branch pipe H to the hose F, which is connected by means of the pipe E to the reservoir for compressed air (not shown) at the roundhouse or station. The supply of air to the hose F is regulated by means of the valve 0'. The various connections are preferably made by the air-pipe couplings 10, such as are well known in the \Vestinghouse system of air-brakes.

lVhile the air from the nozzle K fans the flame, a vacuum-draft is produced by blowing air up the smoke-stack through the pipe P, which is bent downward, as at p, and then upward, as at p, and is preferably provided with a rose or funnel p to blow up the smokestack. This pipe is readily put in position by means of the boiler-washer or any one of the shop-hands standing on the running-board T.

The pipe P is connected to the hose F by means of the hose M, and the flow of air therethrough is controlled by means of the valve m. After the steam has begun to form in the boiler A, the suction-draft may be supplemented by the steam-blow pipe S, as is ordinarily practiced; but should it be desired to operate the suction-draft by steam alone, or to simultaneously blow steam into the boiler and up the sm oke-stack, the apparatus shown to the right of the figure may be used, where Q represents a pipe or hose connected to any source of steam-supply and provided with two branch pipes q and q, controlled by the valves The hose R connects one of these branch pipes to the hose M, and thus steam may be blown through the pipe P and up the smokestack, causing a vacuum-draft. This may be supplemented by or wholly replaced by a supply of steam injected through the hose R, which is led up through the hand-hole T and connected to the branch pipes 8, controlled by the valve 8 and opening into the main blowpipe S. If steam be injected through this branch pipe 5, part of the said steam will go up the smoke-stack, creating a vacuum-draft, and the remainder will flow through the pipe S into the top of the boiler, where it will be condensed by the water in the boiler, thus helping to warm the said water and greatly lessening the time required to heat up the same.

It will be obvious that various modifications of the herein-described apparatus might be made which could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States, is-

1. An apparatus for kindling fires in locomotive boilers, comprising a source of supply of compressed air, a hose leading therefrom, with a nozzle for directing compressed air be- ICO neath the grate bars, and a bent pipe connected to said hose and adapted to be hung in the smokestack and to blow upward therein, substantially as described.

2. An apparatus for kindling fires in 1000- motive boilers, comprising a source of supply of compressed air, a hose leading therefrom, with a nozzle for directing compressed air beneath the grate bars, and a bent pipe connected to said hose and adapted to be hung in the Smokestack and to blow upward therein with a funnel shaped rose on the end of said pipe for distributing the air delivered therefrom, substantially as described.

3. An apparatus for heating up locomotive boilers, comprising a source of air supply and an extraneous source of steam supply, a pipe or hose leading from the former to the grate of the furnace, a second pipe leading from the source of air supply and blowing up the smokepartly into the boiler to be heated up and partly into the Smokestack, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, JOHN T. CONNOR.

\Vitnesses L. 13. N. SCHNEIDER, R. E. LEWIS. 

